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10 Ways Online Gaming Will Change The Future

cracked.com — If you don't know what an "MMORPG" is, don't worry. It's a geek term, like "e-mail" used to be a geek term. For now, let's just say it's the most instantly gripping, involving and demanding entertainment technology ever invented.

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  • GoAwayScumbag, on 12/10/2007, -6/+16Diggity Duggity Dugg for insane pictures.
    • Uranium118, on 12/10/2007, -3/+2Digglety Digglety Trio Trio Trio
    • tendonut, on 12/10/2007, -1/+8Dugg for the potential Shiggity Shiggity Schwa reference.
  • rush378, on 12/10/2007, -2/+14Nedroid rules.
  • Nudar, on 12/10/2007, -19/+70MMORPGs will not take over the world. They require much too large an investment of time. Simple pick up and play games like you find on the Wii are the past, present and future.
    • orangespanky, on 12/10/2007, -10/+1lol if the wii takes over the world we will get torn apart by aleins will all of their silly puns.
      • KaiUno, on 12/10/2007, -1/+8Is it so hard to just read aloud what you type before pressing the damn submit button? There's even a button to check your spelling in case you're a complete idiot.
    • n0tj0sh, on 12/10/2007, -7/+21You would be surprised by how many casual players play MMORPGs.
      • mrjit, on 12/10/2007, -10/+4You mean we'd be surprised by the number of casual gamers who buy an MMOG, play it to day 29 of its free trial, then quit. Then 5 months later try it, then quit after a week.
      • thebellmaster1x, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1True...mostly.
        Quite some time ago, I picked up a copy of Ultima Online. I really enjoyed playing it.
        Then, one day, I decided "Why don't I see what the PvP side of the game is like? Maybe I can pick up some tips."
        LOL, NO.
        About two minutes into it, I get my ass kicked by some moron who had spent the last 14 months working to get his strength so high that he could kill a dozen people by glaring at his screen. So I get resurrected. Dead again within 5 minutes.
        Oh, and don't forget the looting of all my stuff.
        In my opinion, MMORPGs are great for the casual gamer--if not for people like that who seek only to ruin the experience for them.
        • thebellmaster1x, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2Which, granted, is another problem. The pricing schemes are aimed at people who do nothing but play the games all day.
        • Altoidsxcore1, on 12/10/2007, -0/+0Goldshire + Dots - Guards = Froob PWNZoR
    • masterm1nd, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1http://cow.neondragon.net/stuff/simulation/ .
    • ShaneMcDeath, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1The matrix is an MMORPG and we could be living in one in a few decades!
    • DarkSamus, on 12/10/2007, -0/+4i agree, just like "not everyone will have a goddamn myspace or facebook account"
  • Vergisst, on 12/10/2007, -15/+27I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
  • orangespanky, on 12/10/2007, -12/+2i wonder if the term noob could actually cause legal action in the future, in the same way the word N**** can now. Or if hate crimes could exist if your fighting a different race. If PK'ing will be changed to 2'nd degree murder. If gold farming will just be a day to day job, or if getting your woodcutting skill to 100 could get you in serious trouble with the enviormental people. Somehow, i doubt all these things.....
    • EdgarVerona, on 12/10/2007, -0/+4Nope. =) Because unlike the real life versions of those actions, there are minimal (if any) consequences or hardship caused by the actions listed above.
      • Altoidsxcore1, on 12/10/2007, -0/+0Well PKing gets people pissy and the write angry letters to the administrators.
        But in the end isnt that why the PKer did it?
        Corpse camping FTW
  • daxsymbiont, on 12/10/2007, -1/+12don't worry ma'am, i'm from the internet.
  • glasscup, on 12/10/2007, -2/+7511. There will be an all time record number of virgins.
    • tendonut, on 12/10/2007, -0/+28Thus decreasing the world population.....I think we just solved a world problem!
    • sgtpppr, on 12/10/2007, -1/+9Technically, if people would stop breeding like rabbits, then climate change, world hunger, and warfare would begin to decline. mmorpgs could quite possibly save us simply by preventing us all from getting laid.
      • JonnyTrombone, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Yeah, all our problems are gone- until we start conducting virtual warfare and the enemy team uses speedhack :(
        • Altoidsxcore1, on 12/10/2007, -0/+0Thats where you use telnet to overflow their bandwidth with useless packets =D
    • antdude, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Good then!
  • Craga89, on 12/10/2007, -6/+15The Matrix is coming... I'll take a red pill please.
    • inukki, on 12/10/2007, -0/+5Blue pill let's you stay in the matrix, or you stand by your decision?
      • tektalk, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Well, I just wanna see how far the rabbit hole goes.
  • rand0mm0nkey, on 12/10/2007, -2/+9umm, even less people will go outside and talk to people?
  • Protonz, on 12/10/2007, -2/+42"8. There will be a branch of government to rule the virtual world."
    That is the thing that threatens the expansion of online gaming. Government has no place in a private online society. The retarded american federal government is already looking into 'illegal' online gambling in second life.
    • olorinpc, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2I would say something along the lines of Virtual Governments may eventually happen in these large games... but a branch of say the US gov? No. Wouldn't happen and gamers wouldnt take it.
  • ahpro, on 12/10/2007, -1/+9I found out the other day that 2 of my friends are addicted to WoW and another is addicted to Runescape (and he's a paying member).

    Change is happening.. or maybe i just need to get some new friends.
    • n0tj0sh, on 12/10/2007, -1/+15New Friends.
    • sgtpppr, on 12/10/2007, -0/+13Being addicted to runescape is like being addicted to benadryl and sunkist orange soda.
    • inukki, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1I'd choose change, and choose new friends once the change is done
    • Scira, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1I like tibia better, who the hell needs 3d and sound anyway, well i guess since the game is down for a few more mins i will go back to playing nethack or adom.
    • Altoidsxcore1, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Runescape?
      Thats like... Last resort MMORPG
  • NathanielJ, on 12/10/2007, -7/+9It's a good article and all, but it was a better article in 2005.

    Dear Cracked: Quit "Diggifying" old articles. Thanks.
    • TheFirstKnight, on 12/10/2007, -1/+4Missed it in 2005. Caught it in 2007.
  • blakemara, on 12/10/2007, -5/+62Am I the only one completely disgusted by this story?
    • inukki, on 12/10/2007, -7/+216 + digg ups says: yes.
    • Syric, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3Probably.
    • mfratz, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3No. The article is absurd and completely untrue. This was written by the same people that wrote the funniest bible quotes and most pimping figures in history. I mean come on!
    • fef560, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2I'm pretty sure the diggs mean people agreeing with him
  • smurf22, on 12/10/2007, -2/+17I prefer a single player experience more then a multiplayer one. I just don't like dealing with a-holes.
    • JergoR, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3Quite true. A single player game where one takes on the role of a unique character in which a story line is grafted onto is invaluable when compared to the out of role chatting that occurs at a frequency of ad infinitum on most MMORPGs.
  • mal1964, on 12/10/2007, -1/+2I thought it was about on line gaming at a casino site.
  • afidler, on 12/10/2007, -1/+5I think you'll have a hard time explaining to the judge that your imaginary sword was stolen by an imaginary character in an imaginary world.
    • 1randomguy08, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2Especially when the judge in from the post ww2 era.
      • slowbo, on 12/10/2007, -1/+2Yeah, the judges born between WW1 and WW2 are the only ones who really *get* the whole internet(s) thing(s).
  • johnn11238, on 12/10/2007, -2/+510 ways online gaming will change the future...of gaming.
  • somunny, on 12/10/2007, -1/+24"MMORPG" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like "e-mail", now does it?
    • EdgarVerona, on 12/10/2007, -2/+15That's why I propose changing the everyday term to "MOMO". It's nonsensical, but at least then you could start coining phrases such as "Word to your Momo."
      • Goombellaofgoom, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1And then the "Yo' Mommo" comments start...
    • Scira, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3most people just call them MMO's
    • 1randomguy08, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1I call it M-MORGS.
  • chaos7, on 12/10/2007, -2/+2for those interested in these predictions, i recommend the movie "Existenz"
    • inukki, on 12/10/2007, -1/+3how about a neural interactive interface called "The Matrix", first movie, not the crappy sequels
  • Makaveli604, on 12/10/2007, -7/+4Great article actually..
  • Madpony, on 12/10/2007, -3/+7As seen forever ago on Pointless Waste of Time!
    This is a funny article, but it's old as hell...
  • Madpony, on 12/10/2007, -10/+0As seen forever ago on Pointless Waste of Time!
    This is a funny article, but it's old as hell...
  • juliend2, on 12/10/2007, -6/+3Rendered in 172.94 seconds, operation timed out
    please contact your system administrator
    (!!!!)
  • SubaruPowah, on 12/10/2007, -9/+16Yeah... I don't think mmorpgs are going to change the world. Sorry.
    • bjornski, on 12/10/2007, -2/+13Yeah, and that internet thing?

      It's just a fad. It'll pass.
    • ordig, on 12/10/2007, -1/+6Famous last words
    • ShaneMcDeath, on 12/10/2007, -1/+5I don't play these types of games as of yet but i think you are lacking the imagination as to what these types of games can develop into in the future.

      ie. maybe you're the person who never imagined we'd be doing our shopping online.
    • DarkSamus, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3i don't think it'll impact my life either, but just to make sure i'm gonna buy some activision blizzard stocks
  • jcsoc, on 12/10/2007, -3/+2Wasn't there another article here about how the holodeck would mean the end of the human race? It was right
    • DarkSamus, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1sorry, i only know about holoduke and it's been forever since i've heard of it
  • PrometheusPV, on 12/10/2007, -3/+21Im just gunna go ahead and say that MMORPGs will have to get Massively less repetitive (MLR) before yours truly hops on board.

    Oh and the more popular the game gets, the less im interested. There is a positive correlation between % of people who like something and crap.
    • ShaneMcDeath, on 12/10/2007, -4/+4not a fan of sex?
    • Scira, on 12/10/2007, -2/+1Play tibia, its only popular in Brazil right now.
    • 1randomguy08, on 12/10/2007, -3/+2I.e youtube, Australian/American Idol, RNB, Big brother *throws up*
  • theantirobot, on 12/10/2007, -10/+3bury? I am an artist raising awareness about many topics discussed in this article. Especially, the economic implications. Check out my youtube and myspace channels of same name. We are pretty much living in star trek now.
  • chiefbandit2200, on 12/10/2007, -0/+32 and 3 will never happen...
  • CollapseControl, on 12/10/2007, -7/+1Online gaming is great using the Xbox 360 & LIVE. There are so many fun as hell games to play with friends and the ease to get games going is awesome. Online gaming with the 360 is above and beyond any other console. But XBL is where my online gaming ends, no other system has it good enough for me to invest time in.
    • Zap2, on 12/10/2007, -1/+5Honestly, the idea that the online systems for PS3 and Wii aren't good enough to play on is stupid....they aren't as good as XBL, no doubt, but since their FREE...I can't see why you wouldn't play on them

      Unless, you know, don't own the other consoles(hint hint!)
      • CollapseControl, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1I own the Wii and it is sitting in a drawer and only gets play at parties and family gatherings. The PS3 has nothing to offer me game wise and certainly not online. Considering how I have all my gaming friends on the 360 there is no need for me to use the other 2 inferior systems to game online.
        • Syric, on 12/10/2007, -1/+2Unless you want to play a game that's not for 360. I presume that happens. Like Zap said, there's no reason to actively NOT use a Wii or PS3 for online gaming. If you happen to feel like playing Smash Bros online, you're not going to say "Nah, it's on the Wii".
        • CollapseControl, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Well, lol, i'm not a big fan of Super Smash Bros, but I would play it if it came to Xbox Live. Friend codes? what? no?
        • DarkSamus, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1your moronic comment only yields that you need to buy a bigger entertainment center or some similar ***** like that, also calling the ps3 inferior shows your bias
          • B1663r, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Not knowing what bias means, or thinking that there is something wrong for having one, shows your intelligence...
        • CollapseControl, on 12/10/2007, -0/+0The amount of space I have available to display home entertainment doesn't sway the fact that the PS3 offers me nothing. Why am I going to invest time & money into a PS3? Just so I can say I have one to guys like you? "Gamers" who enjoy the PS3? Not me.
    • bjornski, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2Yet.
  • audiodude34, on 12/10/2007, -0/+8I know some of the older geeks remember MUDs. I played a MUD all through high school. By the time these 3D animated MMORPGs came out, I was already sick of the whole concept.

    Honestly, all I can think of when I'm watching my Dwarven Whatever (WoW) mindlessly swipe at midair is "Man, this would be faster and easier if this was all text"
    • int10h, on 12/10/2007, -1/+0It's easier to write bots and scripts that do that grinding for you, aswell.
  • ssjasper2003, on 12/10/2007, -1/+02 is the internet.
  • Zap2, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2And by online gaming, you mean only MMORPG?

  • Hoxie, on 12/10/2007, -0/+16From nedriod.com:
    "•If you're here because of PWOT's World of Warcraft article, it was a joke. There is no magic program here. "

    touche
    • P522, on 12/10/2007, -1/+0Well isn't that a whole lot smart? Thanks for the explanation, Nedroid!
    • Laughto, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3Do you know what touche means?
    • MaximusD, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2I was stupid enough to wikipedia it. Since it didn't exist there, I knew it wasn't real. Nedroid might not have "human hands" though. Maybe that's why he's a droid.
    • 1randomguy08, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Kinda sounded like gmail I though it was real.
  • Jimbob200, on 12/10/2007, -2/+7Terrible article.You want to get a better idea at where we all "could" be in a while? Read William Gibson. Neuromancer or Idoru would be a good start.
  • notahippie76, on 12/10/2007, -5/+2This is a very scary prospect, and even more frighteningly, it's also completely legitimate.
    • JergoR, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2As legitimate as the homeless issue being solved by giving free laptops and paid monthly subscription to them. Furthermore, attempting to give them another place they can call home.
    • 1randomguy08, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1I think the guy exaggerates alot in the article.
  • DiggCommando, on 12/10/2007, -0/+8WHY do we insist on taking the limitations of a resource-limited world with us into the virtual realm? Are we really so limited as a species that games without artificial scarcity are unenjoyable? Do we just seek idle amusement? The virtual world has potential, but in order to capture the human spirit, it will have to go beyond the known to engage and unleash a creative side of us that would thrive in this world where anything is possible.
    • ShaneMcDeath, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1excellent post mate
    • Ellipsys, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2Splendid. The only problem here is that, much like in the Matrix, people will have difficulty adjusting to a perfect world. Take for instance, MMOs like World of Warcraft. Recently there was a change instituted that gave very powerful "epic" level gear to players who spent (A lot of ) time in player versus player combat, instead of player vs environment "raids". The uproar was quite loud, as many of the "raiders" felt the "pvpers" didn't "earn" their gear, because PvPing was easier than Raiding. There's always an uberguild on ever server that beats the biggest bosses first and who want to be "The best". When everyone can be "the best", I am not sure people will accept that environment. People like to feel better than other people. Like they somehow got to the top, and "won". If everyone had Mercedes, 10 room penthouses, and perfect bodies, I think there would be a lot of uproar after a generation or two. People would need to find some other way to "outdo" their fellow man. Unfortunate, but this is a problem that technology can't solve.
    • DarkSamus, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1i believe that's already happening
    • mauso, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Playing a game without limitations would be like watching a movie without conflict. Very boring.
  • crazyhorse13, on 12/10/2007, -1/+3You could break into people's homes without them knowing, and kill them. And then when you go to jail, you can just jack into the metaverse.
    And Africans will still be dieing of AIDS.
    • Scira, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2AIDS is the corrupted blood of RL, which means someone at one point got it on with a pet, and i doubt it was a succubus.
  • celkin, on 12/10/2007, -4/+2OMFG! I'M THE 999,999TH VISITOR!!!
  • Kahlnen, on 12/10/2007, -1/+5Welcome to .hack//sign... For realz.
  • jimmiss, on 12/10/2007, -1/+3MMORPG... God I wish there was a better acronym! Can't someone make B.R.A.I.N.C.R.A.C.K. work somehow?
  • AgentKPB, on 12/10/2007, -0/+14"7. You'll meet a couple who have been married for years and have never seen each other's real-life faces."

    I can't wait to see how this plays out with all the dudes playing chicks.
  • Zetsubou, on 12/10/2007, -2/+3But at the end of the day, it's all fake.
    • ArcaneDruid, on 12/10/2007, -1/+0So are most people these days, and I'm not talking just their body.
    • Orion682, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1If you spend more time in the false universe than the real one, who's to say what is real? Reality is a set of impulses streaming into our minds through sensory organs. It can be tricked, it can be altered, bent, and broken with the right stimulus or conditions.

      The notion that the Matrix movie was based on is called the "brain in a vat" hypothesis. This states that if we were brains hooked up to equipment in a vat of fluid, and were sent neural impulses to mimic those of our senses, we would never know, and a complete world could be simulated with no one having any real bodies. Would that world still be reality if you could never know anything more real than it? Would the artificial origin of that world make it any less real?

      It seems like an easy question to answer now: Of course not. Reality is real because it's there. It's tangible. It's the highest level in that chain. But as we interact more directly with devices, as the worlds we construct out of numbers become more and more lifelike and engaging, then how do you know that one day you won't disconnect from a neural interface, leaving behind a world with friends and family and entering one that is bleak and empty? And more importantly, when you do, which will seem more real? The world you live in, or the world you sleep in? And one day, if you could be backed up wholesale onto a computer system, and effectively become eternal, and immortal, then what will your reality be?
  • jefuchs, on 12/10/2007, -8/+2Buried for being about video games (I bury all of them, but occasionally tell you).

    Wake uo you slobs. They're taking our country from us while you play viddies!!!!
    • zointax, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1Thanks for taking the time to tell us. Buried for being an idiot.
    • Laughto, on 12/10/2007, -1/+2Wow, that's retarded. Wake uo yourself.
    • Logicexe, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1You forgot "Vote Ron Paul"
  • MaximusD, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3Robocracy will govern the metaverse. The Amish and Land Dolphins will rule North America, as the Amish are the only human community did not descend into the depths of mental masturbation, while the Robot Overlords prepare their coop. The Amish still only control parts of rural Pennsylvania due to the Land Dolphins' cleverness. Wild speculation is awesome.
  • joecruz, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1number 7 is quite disturbing
  • ReturnToFreedom, on 12/10/2007, -0/+9What we need are advances in AI and physics engines in 3D games. I have always believed that an AI approach that can expand on available cpu resources is the best way to go. A processor upgrade means an automatically smarter AI system. This can be done with neural nets as more connections are possible with more processing speed. Also, we need to be able to make permanent changes to 3D virtual worlds. We should be able to burn down a house, chop down a forest, or dig a tunnel into our enemies base. Think of digging a huge hole and having your enemy chase you, then he falls in and you go back and kick dirt in his face before you stone him to death.

    I know what you're thinking "but won't it ruin the game to have your stuff destroyed?" I don't know, does it ruin being alive to have that happen in the real world? I don't think so. We just need a comparable penalty for anyone who does that in the game. Prison (you can login but your character can't do anything but view the world from behind bars for x number of days) or the death penalty for REALLY serious crimes (a combination of account suspension and having your character deleted, meaning you start again from level 0). We would find the appropriate level of punishment to keep crime in the virtual world as news breaking as it is in the real world. Think of how exciting it would be to steal a sword from a merchant and run away as fast as you can, because you know if you get caught you can't play for a few days.
    • wolfboy2883, on 12/10/2007, -1/+4The holodeck will be the last invention of society. When it is here, we won't have motivation to do anything else, ...EVER! Why bother when we receive all the gratification we need from our games? Simulations are not healthy when they're that real and for that long.
      • ReturnToFreedom, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1I suppose you could make the case that it'll be more addictive than crack cocaine if games really get that interactive and immersive. I don't think that such games would be necessarily abused by all and I could make the case that those of us who can use those games in a healthy manner should not be punished by those who would abuse them.
    • rusty123jimi, on 12/10/2007, -3/+1Upgraded processor...hmmm....sounds like the cell should do it! lol! I know I'm going to get hated for this...but theres nothing avaliable or affortable right now that even comes close to the cell's processing power! ;)
      • k3ano, on 12/10/2007, -0/+3Too bad it's not of much use at the moment.
    • PrometheusPV, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1Crysis comes closer to what a MMORPG should be than any current MMORPG does
  • Kratos76, on 12/10/2007, -3/+2Misleading title... FTA: "A World of Warcraft World: 10 Ways Online Gaming Will Change the Future" What about the huge popularity of Online 1st person shooters and non RPG games.. Halo, UT...
    • Laughto, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1WoW alone currently has 9 million active subscribers worldwide. No FPS can even begin to compare itself to that.
      • TriplePlay2425, on 12/10/2007, -2/+1Because there are too many losers in the world.
        • ScionX, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1why does playing a mmo automatically qualify you as a loser?
    • wolfboy2883, on 12/10/2007, -1/+1FPS is a different kind of game. I go on Half Life 2 deathmatch when i feel like spending an hour blowing people up to let off some steam, then I'm done. FPS and adventure/console and non-RPG games are perfect for casual gaming. Play a few levels or a few save points on break and go on with my life. RPGs consume you.
  • wilf_brim, on 12/10/2007, -0/+5MMOs are inherently limited by their very design. With the current model, one needs to spend a significant amount of time (far more than the average Joe is willing to spend) to make it worth while. In addition, many MMOs reach a tipping point where they can (pratically) grow no more. N00bs get ganked immediately, and the gameplay sucks for them.
    • wolfboy2883, on 12/10/2007, -1/+4I barely have enough time for my FIRST life. How am I supposed to live another life in a virtual world?
  • TomJohn, on 12/10/2007, -0/+2My question is how does one invest in this?
    • mcduckov, on 12/10/2007, -0/+1HAH! I was thinking that very thing. I suppose you need to look at the natural progression of things. The next logical piece to have here is better input/output devices. If it remains just monitor, keyboard and mouse then I don't think it will grow the way this person expects it to. So I guess one should keep an eye open for companies making novel input/output devices to improve the interface with the virtual world.
  • number20, on 12/10/2007, -1/+2jail for stealing a sword that doesnt exist? ***** that. buried

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